This was Los Angeles Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw pitching a no-hit masterpiece Wednesday night against the Rockies in front of 46,069 fans at Dodger Stadium.

It wasn’t just that Kershaw came within one batter from perfection that inspired awe and multiple standing ovations. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner also struck out a career-high 15 batters. His combination of fastballs, curves and sliders made the Rockies look helpless at the plate.

For the record, the Dodgers won 8-0.

“As far as individual games go, this is really special. To do it at home is more amazing,” a teary-eyed Kershaw said as he acknowledged the crowd after his first no-no.

Kershaw’s 15 strikeouts were the most ever by a Dodgers pitcher in a no-hitter, and the most by any pitcher in a no-hitter since the Rangers’ Nolan Ryan struck out 16 on May 1, 1991 against the Blue Jays. In fact, Kershaw and Ryan are the only two pitchers in baseball history to throw a no-hitter while striking out 15 or more batters. Ryan did it three times.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, though clearly down about another Rockies’ road loss, lingered at the rail of the dugout after the game and watched the Dodgers’ celebration.

“I think that anytime there is a special moment for someone, you want to watch how the guy responds,” Tulo said “Clayton, obviously, I have a lot of respect for. I know how hard he works.

“It’s nice for me to see how something means enough to bring tears to (their) eyes. It means that they care. I care a lot about this game and it was a special moment for me, too, to see somebody who values this game so much and see it pay off.”

How dominant was Kershaw’s stuff Wednesday night? His fastball hummed at 94-95 mph and 14 his 15 strikeouts came with his breaking pitches.

In the critical ninth inning, fans were on their feet, taking flash pictures for posterity with their smart phones. First, Kershaw got DJ LeMahieu to ground out to first. Next, he got Charlie Culberson to pop out to right. Kershaw finished his masterpiece by striking out Corey Dickerson with an 87 mph slider.

“I wasn’t going up there to take (a pitch), that’s for sure,” Dickerson said. “But he was throwing strikes all night and getting ahead of everybody.”

After Dickerson struck out to become part of history, he slowly walked to the Rockies’ dugout, all the while peeking over his shoulder to watch Kershaw being mobbed by his teammates.

“He’s always been a stand-up guy and a class act,” Dickerson said. “His stuff was phenomenal tonight. I think all of the guys felt that. So we tip our cap to him.”

“His fastball had a little cut to it and he was painting the corners. Then he got ahead and was able to use his curveball. His velo (velocity) was up and he still had movement.”

Not all of the Rockies were quite so enthralled about being part of Dodgers history.

“Not good, not good. It’s terrible,” said Brandon Barnes, when asked about his team being no-hit. “He was just making his pitches when he needed to. He’s a good pitcher and he’s got good stuff. That’s why he gets paid a lot of money. But there is nothing we could have done about it tonight. We gave it everything we had.”

Kershaw needed just 107 pitches to make history, 79 of which he threw for strikes.

“He was a bulldog tonight,” Tulowitzki said.

Kershaw’s perfect game was lost in the seventh inning when shortstop Hanley Ramirez threw wildly to first after scooping up leadoff hitter Dickerson’s chopper. Kershaw’s no-hitter was saved two batters later when third baseman Miguel Rojas flagged down Tulowitzki’s shot down the line and threw Tulo out by a step.

“A great play by Miggy,” said Kershaw. “I thought it was foul. It was definitely huge for me.”

That was one of only two balls the Rockies squared up all night. The other was Tulo’s long flyout to left field to end the fourth.

Kershaw’s no-hitter was the 22nd in Dodgers’ history and their second this season. Josh Beckett threw a 128-pitch no-no May 25 in the Dodgers’ 6-0 win at Philadelphia.

“I am so amazed,” Kershaw said. “Beckett told me he was going to teach me how to do that, so I have Josh to thank.”

The Dodgers’ 22 no-hitters are the most in major-league history. The Boston Red Sox, with 19, rank second. The only other time the Dodgers threw two no-hitters in one season was 1956, when the team was still in Brooklyn. Carl Erskine and Sal Maglie did it that year.

Kershaw’s was the third no-hitter thrown against the Rockies. The Marlins’ Al Leiter threw the first, on May 11, 1996, at Florida. The second came about four months later when the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo did it Sept. 17, the only no-hitter at Coors Field.

Truth is, the Rockies lost this game in the very first inning. Kershaw set them down in order, setting the stage for the brilliance to come. He struck out Dickerson with a beastly slider, got Barnes to pop out to center on 93 mph fastball and jammed Tulowitzki on a 94 mph heater that Tulo managed to roll to second for a groundout.

Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa departed from his last start after three innings because of lower-back tightness. His back supposedly was better, but he didn’t look right. He lasted just 3 innings, giving up eight runs on six hits with five walks. Three of those walks came in the Dodgers’ five-run third inning. The big hit was Rojas’ three-run double.

“We just started scoring so many runs,” Kershaw said. “I just didn’t want to mess that up. I just kept trying to throw strikes. It was just so much fun, I can’t explain it.

“You don’t really think about doing something like that. You think about winning a World Series, but as far as individually, this ranks right up there. It’s pretty cool.”

The ignominy of getting no-hit was the low point of a Colorado’s roller-coaster road trip, but the Rockies understood what they witnessed as they watch Kershaw address the crowd.

“It’s a heck of an accomplishment,” Weiss said. “You never want to be on this end of it. Kershaw’s a first-class guy. He handled himself really well. I think that’s what you saw tonight with the guys hanging around afterwards.”

The Rockies’ journey West began with an unexpected three-game sweep at San Francisco, but ended with three consecutive losses to the Dodgers, who are quickly emerging as the beasts of the National League West. They have won eight of their last 11 to move within four games of division-leading San Francisco.

The Rockies, meanwhile, are treading water and are nine games out in the NL West as they head home for a short, six-game set that begins Friday against Milwaukee.

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